What rewards await the beauty pageant winner?
Simply put, fame and fortune. One can become a telenovela star, as in the case of Cecilia
Bolocco, a Miss Universe winner from Chile, who went on to star in Televisa's Morelia.
Better yet, a recording career or even Hollywood awaits, as in the case of Maria Conchita
Alonso of Venezuela. Sometimes, the fame can even be leveraged into a political career, as
in the case of 1987 Miss Universe Irene Sáez
Conde, who became the mayor of the Chacao
district in Caracas (Venezuela) and is, by all accounts, an extremely capable, effective
and popular manager.

Of course, the road to the top is not easy. The age range for competition is
fairly short and one must have the dedication and desire to prepare for it. In Venezuela,
there is a famous Miss Academy, which trains prospective contestants on posture, dancing,
speech, and even offers plastic surgery. The competition resembles a single-elimination
tournament structured as a hierarchy that becomes increasingly important as one progresses
up the ladder.

In the beginning, one might start off by competing for local titles (e.g. Miss
Subway, Miss Trade Fair); then, one competes for district titles (e.g. Miss Miraflores);
then, one competes for city titles (e.g. Miss Lima); then, one competes for provincial or
state titles (e.g. Miss Sonora, or Miss Bahia).

The winners of national pageants then
proceed to regional competitions (such as Nuestra Belleza, Miss Hispanidad,
Miss South America, Miss Meso-America). Such events are likely to be broadcast
across the continent. These television shows hype up their ratings by using celebrity
judges. For example, Don Francisco (of Sábado Gigante) and singer El General
were judges at Nuestra Belleza 1996.

Nuestra Belleza 1996

The winners of some national pageants
proceed to global competitions (such as Miss
Universe, Miss World, Miss Globe). Such events are broadcast worldwide and may be seen
by hundreds of millions of people (see GlobalBeauties.com).

The title of the most glamorous beauty
pageant in Latin America must surely go to Miss Venezuela. Venezuelans take the contest
very seriously and the live broadcast on Venevisión has been known to draw more than 80%
share of the audience. Although this is an annual event, there is a well-designed and
well-maintained Miss Venezuela web site
that provides information all year round. There is a special term farándula that
is used to describe the hype and gossip --- factual or otherwise --- which surround the
lives of celebrities such as beauty queens. There are even Miss Venezuela
dolls for sale.

For the people of Venezuela, their beauty
queens are a source of national pride. Miss Venezuela winners have gone on to win three
Miss Universes and four Miss Worlds, which is a phenomenal rate of success for a country
of 20 million people. In 1996, Jacqueline Aguilera and Alicia Machado became Miss World
and Miss Universe respectively, thereby placing Venezuela into the Guinness Book of World
Records for having simultaneous Miss World-Miss Universe winners on two separate
occasions.

Miss Venezuela 1997

Miss Venezuela 2000

We should point out that these pageants are
not limited solely to the female of the species. Parallel to the Miss Venezuela pageant,
we have the Mr. Venezuela pageant. But we have to say that the female version is much more
popular with the people!

Mr Venezuela 1996

We will now look at some survey data collected in
the Los
Medios y Mercados de Latinoamérica 1996 study. We asked our respondents whether
they watched beauty pageants regularly when these programs are shown on television.
Overall, 30% of all persons between the ages 12 and 64 said that they do. In Table 1, we
break down the answer by different demographic categories. We can characterize the regular
viewers as more likely to be upper-middle class middle-aged women. Geographically, these
programs are most popular in Chile, Colombia, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. As it turns out,
these four countries have WWW sites for their national competitions (Miss Chile,
Miss Colombia, Miss Puerto RicoandMiss Venezuela)

Given the fact that these viewers are primarily women
and given the fact that they watch beauty pageants regularly, what else might we guess? An
astute marketer would have guessed that these viewers would be a promising target for
female beauty products. In Table 2, we break down the viewership among those women who use
various beauty products. In most instances, their usage levels are significantly higher
than the population as a whole.

Table 2. % of Women Who Watched Beauty
Pageants on TV Regularly
by Usage of Beauty Products in Last 6 Months